


CEASEFIRE

by unknown_name



Category: Persona 5, Persona Series
Genre: Acting As A Father For A Son In Need, As Fluffy As Those Two Can Get In Canon, Bonding... Somewhat, During Canon, Family Fluff, Father-Son Relationship, Gen, Repressed Paternal Instinct, Sickfic, Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-10
Updated: 2019-02-10
Packaged: 2019-10-25 18:22:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,100
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17730296
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/unknown_name/pseuds/unknown_name
Summary: Shidou Masayoshi was not a good father. The very idea of it was an absurd one.In any other circumstances, Akechi Goro would have agreed vehemently. But, as he clutched his superior's blazer tighter over himself, he found for the first time in his life that he was glad Shidou Masayoshi was his father.





	CEASEFIRE

**Author's Note:**

> A friend of mine showed me lots of very cute pictures depicting Shidou and Goro as a loving, adorable family... which triggered in me an urge to scratch that itch and just drown in the wholesomeness. I can't get enough of those two interacting as father and son, I swear! It was a real challenge to write as Shidou plus wholesome fluff automatically cranks the disbelief up to eleven, but I still hope this guilty pleasure, pure wish-fulfillment story managed to do him and Goro justice, if only a little.

“Can you believe the nerve? Of course, I smacked him across the face when he told me that! That jerk’s got no idea how to talk to girls, unlike you—Akechi-kun, are you okay?!”  
  
A great commotion was shaking up classroom 3-1 of Tokyo's most prestigious high school, the source of which being the downpour of concern a group of teenage girls was flooding their fellow classmate with. To be fair, their urgency was understandable – if Akechi Goro was feeling so unwell that he would sway briefly on the spot, then their world might as well stop turning.  
  
“I’m… I’m fine,” he said, bravely managing an attempt at a weak smile. “I just felt slightly lightheaded for a minute there…”  
  
“Eh? You’re not getting sick, are you?” asked one of the girls, worry written all over her face.  
  
“No… Nothing like that,” he assured with a gentle shake of the head. “I didn’t get much sleep last night, that’s all… This is what I get for letting the case files pile up.”  
  
The self-deprecating chuckle he gave earned him collective sighs of endearment. Another fan of his, however, didn't seem convinced. “Still, you don't look so good… When the final bell rings, you should go home straight away and rest.”  
  
Akechi Goro's eyes turned to crescents. The room went very quiet all of a sudden, like it did each time his fans contemplated his radiant features in absolute awe. “I will. Thank you.”  
  
That was a lie.  
  
  
  
  
“Man, it's really pouring down…”  
  
“The forecast said it wouldn't start raining until much later! Ugh, at least we have the umbrella, I guess…”  
  
The exasperation floating around Shibuya seemed to be unanimous. It was never fun walking under stormy weather, much less for those who were caught unprepared. The intensity of the rain was such that most people preferred to retreat to the various stores around, crowded but at least decent shelters against the cold downpour hammering down on the streets. Unfortunately, Akechi Goro couldn't afford the luxury of waiting it out, not when his obligations forbade him to. The text message he received a few hours earlier had seen to that.  
  
Heaving a weary sigh, the young man threw a somewhat pitiful look at the flooded pavement. The rain was not letting up, he had no umbrella, and the circumstances didn't allow him time to buy one even at the nearest convenience store. All he could do was shorten the ordeal as much as possible, and Akechi Goro left the protection of the subway entrance at a run.  
  
When he finally reached his destination, he was soaked to the bone. He could have jumped head on into a pond and the result wouldn't have been too different. The rain had penetrated his blazer, saturating his shirt to the point that it stuck uncomfortably to his skin. Worse still, icy drops were trickling down his head and onto the nape of his neck, causing his hairs to stand on end. He definitely looked less than presentable, and that was a major understatement – but not showing up at all would have meant disobeying Shidou Masayoshi's orders, and having to endure a biting remark or two seemed a positively better outcome by comparison.  
  
Trying to ignore how cold and tired he was feeling, Akechi Goro knocked on the door to his superior's office, eager to be allowed in and bask in the warmth of the small room. The longer he waited, however, the clearer it became that something was off.  
  
“Shidou-san?” he called, knocking gently again. “It’s Akechi.”  
  
There was no response. Curious, the teenager grabbed the handle and tentatively tried to push the door open. It didn't budge.  
  
_That's unusual,_ he thought distantly, his heavy eyes sweeping both ends of the hallway. A bit taken aback, he sent a brief message informing Shidou of his arrival, and got a reply only minutes later.  
  
“I am going to be late. Wait for me outside my office.”  
  
Akechi Goro read the response twice before releasing a sigh and putting his phone away. Now that was very much like Shidou – constantly chewing people out for failing to be on time, yet having no qualms about being late himself whenever he pleased.  
  
_He could have at least apologized for making me wait…_  
  
The teenager snorted at his unbidden naivety. Of course Shidou couldn’t have.  
  
He was just hoping the wait wouldn’t be too long. But as the five minutes became ten, fifteen, twenty, he was beginning to think this might have been yet another naive thought.  
  
Shoulders slumping – out of resignation or tiredness, either contributed – Akechi Goro slid his phone back into his pocket, finding it a distraction no more. Great tremors, undoubtedly caused by his imposed shower, coursed all over his body, coming back in full force now that his brain was free to fully register them. He hugged himself feebly, but to no avail.

 _I wish he'd be here already…_  
  
He didn't take long to lose track of time. The weariness born from his sleepless night and fueled by his boredom slowly but surely morphed into a heavy torpor, inexorably overtaking both his body and mind. Soon, the last of his energy keeping him on his two legs faded away, drained by the exhaustion. But he couldn't succumb, no matter how alluring it was to just sit there and embrace the heavenly darkness – it would be all over if he did, his reputation with Shidou would plummet beyond the salvageable, he had to fight it off somehow—  
  
As he felt himself swing backward, the tiny spark of consciousness still alight within his mind finally winked out. If it had held out a split second longer, he would have realized a pair of strong, large hands instinctively caught him by his shoulders mid-fall. Hands belonging to a slightly surprised, very impatient Shidou.  
  
  
  
  
“I don't care about his excuses. Those who are not with me are against me, he ought to remember that. I’ll give him twenty-four hours. Any longer than that, and I’ll have to take more… drastic measures.”  
  
The man’s response on the other end of the line came in a series of incoherent sputters, but Shidou got the gist of it. He abruptly hung up.  
  
He really was surrounded by fools. More and more of his connections proved to be disappointing lately, from those whose financial contributions didn't meet his standards anymore to the ones trying to get on his good side with promises they struggled to keep. Well, they all knew what they signed up for when they became Shidou's business partners – just like they knew what would happen if they didn't pick up the pace.  
  
A furrow creased the space between his eyebrows. To be frank, he had no illusions about any of them – they could hardly live up to his expectations, and there was no doubt it would only get worse from there. Yes, the longer he thought about it, the more tempting it was to simply have them _step down_ right away and be done with it, not to mention it would be extremely easy to do so.  
  
…Easy, that is, were it not for the fact that Akechi was currently too indisposed to perform his task, let alone even hear it.  
  
Shidou paused for a brief instant, then stood up and skirted around his desk. The kid didn't stir once despite his close presence, though he was evidently far from having a peaceful sleep – his face was scrunched up in obvious discomfort, while the breaths leaving his lips were much too quick, shallow and irregular to spell out anything remotely close to serenity. It didn’t take a genius to figure out what was wrong with him. He was curled up into a ball, every last muscle shivering to generate whatever heat they could get, but it was far too little – he was going to freeze solid at this rate. All because it was apparently beyond the damn brat’s capabilities to check out the weather report and prepare accordingly, judging from his damp clothes and hair.  
  
And now, not only was Akechi out of commission, he was also preventing Shidou Masayoshi of all people from hearing the information he had been summoned for in the first place. Those were two things that shouldn’t have happened… two things too many.  
  
Shidou grunted. He was not happy.  
  
Really, he should have just shaken the kid awake and berated him for forgetting whose presence he was in, but had decided against it in the end – he was after all a practical man. If Akechi barely reacted while he half-dragged, half-carried him to the sofa, then there would have been no point in wasting his breath. That’s all there was to it, nothing more, nothing less.  
  
A whimper cut his train of thought short, prompting him to focus his attention on the kid again. Huge shudders were running through his frame, and Shidou found he couldn't ignore the matter any longer despite his yearning to do so anyway. He wouldn't have cared if his triumph didn't depend so heavily on the brat’s power… but the fact remained that a sick Akechi meant a serious stall in his plans. The least he could do for the time being was make sure his condition didn't worsen, no matter how much he hated the idea of acting like a goddamn baby-sitter.  
  
… _I suppose this is what I get for relying on a kid._  
  
Shidou smirked despite himself even as he was in the process of removing his blazer – for lack of a proper blanket – and throwing it over the teen. It had always struck him as funny, absurd in fact, that among his connections, the closest and most useful one would turn out to be a boy who couldn’t even drink yet.  
  
_And not just any boy, either._  
  
A derisive snort escaped him. Gods truly had an interesting sense of humor.  
  
Through his mirth, he idly noticed Akechi wasn’t shaking as much anymore. An occasional quiver was still overtaking his body, but the worst of it seemed to have passed. The deep wrinkles across his face had softened, leaving behind something closer to peace than distress. Shidou stared, all traces of his amusement gone without warning, pondering just how vulnerable Akechi looked in that moment, far from the ruthless, cold-blooded murderer he had been turned into. It was a bit strange, almost novel, to see him display anything but professionalism, and no matter how many times he called him a kid or a brat in his head, Shidou had to admit it was sometimes easy to forget that was really all he was in the end. Akechi was good at acting beyond his age, but even he couldn’t fool himself at all times, much less Shidou.  
  
This was as far as that line of thought would go. The kid released a deep, long breath, then shifted from his side to his back. His face was alternating between either a harsh or soft frown, indicating that he was in the process of waking up. Sure enough, his eyes didn’t take long to flutter open, revealing a dazed expression that made his gaze look nearly vacant.  
  
Akechi seemed too out of it to immediately realize where he was, and with whom. There was something sluggish about his manner, as though his entire movements were stuck in slow-motion. He blinked several times, sight wandering vaguely from his makeshift blanket to his surroundings. Then, finally, his gaze rose to meet Shidou’s.  
  
It happened faster than anyone could have anticipated. Without any semblance of warning, Akechi’s eyes widened in what could only be terror, backed up by a loud, startled gasp that left nothing to interpretation. He immediately sat bolt upright, head trembling as he tried to take in Shidou’s unreadable features, and his first words came out in a stutter.  
  
“A-Ah… Sh-Shidou-san…?!” he quavered, teetering dangerously close to the edge of hysteria. “I, I’m so sorry, I just felt very tired all of a sudden and, and I… P-Please forgive me!”  
  
His plea was accompanied by a great bow of the head – either out of fearful respect, or because he didn’t dare look him in the eye, Shidou could not tell. His shoulders were consumed by violent quakes, and if he hadn’t looked so pale, his cheeks would have probably burned a crimson shade of red. He remained there for several long seconds before his squeezed shut eyes shot open, translating his confusion as Shidou pushed him back into a lying position, the gesture not particularly gentle, but not outright rough either.  
  
“Sh-Shidou-san…?” he asked timidly, his eyes wide like saucers – clearly, whatever was happening crossed the limits of his comprehension. Meanwhile, Shidou merely readjusted his blazer so that it would properly cover Akechi’s upper body again.  
  
“Go back to sleep. You look like you need some.”  
  
The kid did a double take. Shidou might as well have talked to him in a foreign language, or so he looked like. “B-But… What about our mee—”  
  
“This can wait.”  
  
Akechi seemed too stunned to know how to react. But even with the lead slowing down his brain, he had to realize Shidou’s tone was final, for he ceased trying to argue and gave a feeble, if hesitant nod. Moments later, he was sound asleep again.  
  
Shidou’s gaze remained on him even as his breathing morphed from a shallow rhythm to a deeper one. Something akin to relief hovered on the kid’s face, but not just that – he looked almost puzzled as well, like he were wondering, “ _Why are you being like this? Why are you so considerate all of a sudden?”_  
  
Shidou didn’t know why.  
  
He was supposed to yell at him. He was supposed to yank him by his shoulder and get down to business. He definitely wasn’t supposed to waste his precious time making sure the kid wasn’t cold, or uncomfortable, or even scared.  
  
But as Akechi stared at him like a deer in the headlights, fear branded in the depths of his eyes, Shidou hadn’t been able to find it in him to summon his usual ruthlessness. Curiosity had delved into his mind instead, overwriting his expected reaction and prompting him to look back at Akechi through a new, different gaze. The gaze of someone who was falling prey to one of the most basic instincts known to mankind.  
  
His cell phone rang then, breaking through the confusion nestled in his brain. It took several more seconds before Shidou finally picked it up. The fact that someone was calling him personally rather than the landline suggested some sort of importance, and in a way, it was.  
  
“He wants to meet at the Wilton? Fine, I suppose I can indulge him for one hour, one hour and a half… Having him in our pocket definitely wouldn’t hurt…”  
  
Of course, this little business meeting meant Akechi would be left alone for a while, but that was fine – by the time Shidou came back, the kid would probably still be asleep anyway. Besides, it wasn’t like he was in any condition to be sent home, not yet. Shidou might as well let him rest a little longer.  
  
“All right, I am on my way,” he said into his phone as he turned away from Akechi, glad he took his coat with him this morning in addition to his blazer. “I should be there in around twenty mi—”  
  
All of a sudden, Shidou stopped in his tracks. Not out of his volition, but because of someone else’s.  
  
Slowly, he looked down over his shoulder at Akechi. The way he was tugging at the hem of Shidou's shirt was feeble. Even so, it felt as though Shidou was being rooted to the spot. The kid was gaping at him slightly, apparently much more confused than one would have expected. He then let go of the older man, his puzzled eyes traveling to his own hand instead.  
  
Shidou stared. His expression was unfathomable.  
  
“Sir? Are you still there?”  
  
Seconds of silence went by. A light flare streaked his glasses.  
  
“…Actually, there is something I have to do. Tell him I postponed the meeting to another day.”  
  
“What? Sir, what’re you—”  
  
With an abrupt click, the voice was replaced by a deafening silence. Shidou then put his phone away. He could sense the kid shift around uncomfortably.  
  
“…I'm sorry, Shidou-san… I don't know what has… what has gotten into me…”  
  
Akechi spoke barely over a whisper, as though rising his voice cost him too big an effort. Even still, he continued, clearly yearning to give words to what weighted on his chest. “I didn't mean to do that… Please, don't cancel your meeting because of… because of—”  
  
“What's done is done. There is always next time.”  
  
The kid blinked wearily at this. And much to Shidou's surprise, the faintest of smiles rose to his lips, a smile that only an uncomplicated joy could muster. “…Thank… you.”  
  
“You have nothing to thank me for,” Shidou replied in a curt tone of voice, a bit taken aback. Akechi looked at him for a brief moment, the happy smile remaining on his face. Then, slowly, it faded.  
  
“Shidou-san… May I ask you a question…?” he wondered, closing his eyes in what appeared to be immense fatigue. “I just wanted to know… Do you have children…?”  
  
Shidou remained silent. His first reaction was to ask why the sudden interest, but something about Akechi's earnest question urged him to be more agreeable than he would have been in any other circumstances. “No. I don't.”  
  
“You don’t…” Akechi echoed, his glazed eyes opening a crack. “Then, if you had some… How would you raise them to be like…?”  
  
The kid looked somewhat anxious for an answer. Shidou chose his words carefully. “I suppose I would do anything in my power to have them grow up into fine young people. Children that would make me proud to call them my own.”  
  
“Make you proud…”  
  
Akechi's eyes closed again. When he spoke, his voice sounded distant, as though he weren't entirely there anymore.  
  
“Well, I would be glad… I would be very glad if I could become someone you would be proud of, Shidou-san…”  
  
  
  
  
Shidou wasn't sure when exactly he drifted to a shallow sleep next to the kid, arms crossed and head hanging low. He had a feeling he had dozed off much longer than he should have, given the noticeable lack of daylight beyond his closed eyelids – night had probably fallen down by now. He had only begun to wonder if Akechi's exhaustion was contagious when he suddenly registered a weight preventing him from standing up, something that he knew for a fact definitely wasn't there before he succumbed.  
  
“What the…”  
  
This was all he found to say. Astonishment stole the rest of his speech away at the sight of the kid sleeping soundly as he faced him, his head resting on Shidou's lap by way of pillow. The older man’s immediate reaction was to push him away, but just as he was reaching out—  
  
“Fa… ther…”  
  
Akechi gripped the cloth of Shidou’s pants tighter, almost like his life depended on it. Shidou froze on the spot, his hand still hovering over the kid, unsure how to react, clueless as to what he should do.  
  
In the end, his indecisiveness was short-lived.  
  
“I need you to pick up Akechi and drive him home. Let me know when you’re there, I’ll bring him to the parking lot.”  
  
Without further ado, Shidou hung up and laid his phone on the coffee table – sliding it back into his pocket might wake the kid up. Then, his gaze fell on him again.  
  
The rise and fall of Akechi’s chest was a gentle one, freed from the erratic shivers that overwhelmed him earlier on. His face looked entirely serene, almost content, like an exhausted child who was finally at peace with the world.  
  
“ _I would be very glad if I could become someone you would be proud of, Shidou-san…”_  
  
Shidou drew in a deep breath, then released it more audibly than intended.  
  
Intelligent and brave despite being so young. Obedient and docile, always willing to do as dictated – no matter how much blood he was told to spill. An efficient right-hand man, who never failed to surpass the expectations laid upon him.  
  
Yes, Akechi was a great ally… the best Shidou ever had, in fact. Anyone would be proud to have this kid for a son.  
  
And somewhere deep down, in the most obscure part of his core, the one he wasn’t even aware of… Shidou Masayoshi _was_ proud. Not as a superior toward his efficient subordinate… but as someone else entirely.  
  
The end of this thought was hanging to the edge of his mind, threatening to slip out, but he quickly chased it away before it could materialize. Letting it free would blur the frontier separating him from the kid, and he didn’t want that. Acknowledging those unnecessary feelings… would only serve to make things much more complicated than they should be.  
  
Because Shidou Masayoshi was not ready to act as a father. No matter how much Akechi subconsciously begged him to. His end was already decided, after—  
  
The kid shifted weakly around, groaning something unintelligible, and Shidou’s resolve immediately shattered. The instinct he tried so hard to repress managed to break free.  
  
No, he was definitely not ready to act as Akechi’s father. But he figured he could, maybe, throw him a bone once in a while.  
This is what that instinct of his was whispering into his ear.  
  
“This will be our secret… All right?”  
  
The moment Shidou pulled back his hand from the kid’s hair was when his cell phone buzzed before going silent once more. He didn’t need to check it out to know the driver had arrived. Akechi stirred again, his frown an obvious protest at the removal of the comforting warmth upon his head. However, he didn’t wake. That only happened when Shidou stood up and lifted him in his arms. Confused maroon eyes opened halfway, looking at the older man through an unfocused, disoriented lens.  
  
“Shidou-san…?” he called out feebly. But Shidou shushed him down.  
  
“Sleeping in here too long will do you more harm than good. I am sending you home. Make sure to go to bed right away.”  
  
Akechi looked like he wanted to argue, but ended up responding only with a barely noticeable nod. Seconds later, he relaxed in Shidou’s arms, his head lolling against his broad shoulder. Shidou had no idea whether he was even aware of what he was doing. The fact that the kid seemed so completely at ease suggested he didn’t. In no other circumstances would Akechi dare get so bold with him – the natural barrier standing tall between them was too strong.  
  
Except Shidou knew that the barrier had already begun crumbling down, if not outright collapsed. He wasn’t sure what to make of it.  
  
It took only a few minutes before he reached the parking lot. His driver was there, waiting like a soldier in front of his car. His professionalism commanded him to maintain a stoic expression at all times, but Shidou could tell by his furtive glance that their peculiar appearance intrigued him.  
  
“Don’t wake him up until you arrive,” Shidou informed as the driver opened the car door unprompted, letting his superior lay Akechi down on the backseat. “He needs all the rest he can get.”  
  
The driver muttered his understanding. The next moment, the car drove out of the parking lot, disappearing into the night – but not before Shidou caught a glimpse of Akechi's smiling face as he closed the door. He seemed to be having a pleasant dream.  
  
  
  
  
The first thing Shidou did upon returning to his office was lighting up a cigarette.  
  
Contradicting emotions whirled around his mind, each more confusing than the last. He absently wondered whether Akechi would remember all that transpired between them the next morning. A strong voice within him was hoping he wouldn’t.  
  
Well, even if Akechi did remember, he, for his part, was planning to act like nothing happened. Lead the kid to believe he just had a fever dream, or something equally convenient. Whatever it would take to restore the wall that should never have vanished. He had to get rid of this instinct before the time came… and even so, Akechi’s delirious slip-up refused to leave his mind.  
  
“Father, huh…”  
  
Shidou snorted. A long puff of smoke escaped his lips.  
  
Maybe that wouldn't be so bad.


End file.
